Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $214.00 to $217.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 7.90% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Progressive from $300.60 to $261.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Argus upgraded Progressive to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. William Blair lowered shares of Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $208.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.11.

Progressive Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:PGR traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $201.12. 190,650 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,437,434. The firm has a market cap of $117.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45, a PEG ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.58. Progressive has a 52-week low of $197.92 and a 52-week high of $289.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 3,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total value of $634,506.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive directly owned 26,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,363,983.15. This represents a 10.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total value of $336,973.15. Following the sale, the insider owned 39,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,097,573.10. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,761 shares of company stock valued at $2,659,420. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Progressive by 30.2% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 102,778 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,381,000 after buying an additional 23,833 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1,614.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 21,598 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,334,000 after acquiring an additional 20,338 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 91.7% in the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 11,710 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,892,000 after acquiring an additional 5,600 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 16,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,159,000 after acquiring an additional 4,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Progressive by 471.3% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 22,496 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,556,000 after purchasing an additional 18,558 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.